“We’ve got to do more than lead songs – we’ve got to lead people.”– Aaron Keyes

In preparation for the international re-release of Aaron Keyes‘ last CD, NOT GUILTY ANYMORE, Kingsway Records had contacted TWC to request an interview. Knowing that I’d occasionally led worship at Aaron’s church, Fred McKinnon – founder of TWC – suggested that I take this on. Aaron came into town to lead worship for SuperWow over on Jekyll Island, which is practically next door, so I snagged the opportunity, and what an interview it was! You can see Part 1 Here. Sadly, a number of technical delays led to the loss of some alternate footage, but I have the continuation of the interview right here as we discussed issues that concern us regarding the current state of “worship” and ask the question, “Are we really worshiping?” In Summary, Aaron says, “We’ve got to do more than lead songs – we’ve got to lead people.”

I admit it – I’ve thought that before about “Capo Users”. I’ve gotten hand-cramps for the sake of my glorious anti-capo-dom. I’ve forced complex songs into simpler keys, far outside my sweet-spot vocally, to massage my ego and not use a capo. I’ve played chord-shapes that don’t ideally befit the riff/hook for the sake of being that guy who’s “better than the capo users.” Yes, on rare occasions I used a capo, but only on open tuned guitars – the fact that I once had 4 guitars on stage, 3 of which were in alternate tunings, gave me enough “cool points” to counteract the evil capo – sorta like buying “Carbon Credits”.

Back in ‘03, however, I saw Shane & Shane live. Those guys have MASTERED the guitar, and they’re capo maniacs: capos upon capos – cut capos inserted at odd angles into other cut capos. I think at one point he had to be using a capo on his vocal chords, too – Mr. Bernard’s range is pretty …well… “pretty” [Read more…]